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March 30, 2012
7 Nisan 5772 Candle Lighting: 7:23
Havdalah: 8:24
Parshat Tzav - Shabbat HaGadol
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Dvar Torah
Parashat Tzav opens with the mitzva of "terumat ha-deshen," a ritual which itself began the daily schedule of worship in the Temple. This mitzva consisted of the kohen sweeping the ashes that had collected on the altar overnight and removing them from the Mikdash area. Why does this particular act begin the Temple service each morning? Sweeping ashes seems to be a humiliating job, not one that the esteemed and revered Kohanim should be doing. Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch suggests that the "terumat ha-deshen" specifically makes sure that the days service begins where the preceding day had left off. This symbolizes the continuity of the Jewish people from generation to the next. He suggests that no generation of Am Yisrael can look at itself in isolation; we must rather see ourselves as but part of an ongoing chain, as we take our tradition from our predecessors and attempt to most effectively transmit it to our successors. So too at Hillel, we realize that we are all part of this chain. We must take all that we learn from our teachers and Rebbeim and do what we can to ensure that our wonderful traditions continue for many generations to come.
Have a wonderful Shabbos and Chag Kasher V'samayach!
Yaakov Posin - 11th Grade
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Message to to our Readers
והאש על המזבח תוקד בו לא תכבה ובער עליה הכהן עצים בבקר בבקר
And the fire upon the Altar shall be kept burning, it shall not go out, and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning... (6:5)
בבקר בבקר : The repetition of the word בקר or morning, is to teach us that a person should perceive the new morning as a new beginning, as a new opportunity to start the spark of the fire within (Parsha on the Go App).
Our Rabbeim and teachers have been hard at work, as usual, over the past month preparing the greatest students in the country for the special holiday of Pesach. We all hope and pray that they have kindled the spark inside your child(ren) and that you all see it shine during the sedarim and all of Pesach. Enjoy the time with your families and have a wonderful yom tov!
From all of us here at the Hillel Happenings, Chag Kasher V'samayach and Good Shabbos!
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Pre-Pesach Contest
Dear Parents,
We are pleased to announce our second "Pre-Pesach Helper Contest" for children in grades 1-6. The objective of this contest is to energize the children to be involved in helping their families prepare for Pesach and be more involved in the Mitzvah of Kibbud Av V'Em. On Tuesday each child in grades 1-6 received a helper contest chart. The chart has spaces to record extra "jobs" that the child has done to help the family prepare for Pesach through Erev Pesach. A job does not have to involve overhauling the family car's transmission or lifting the refrigerator, it can be as simple as cleaning their room, doing an extra everyday chore, watching a younger sibling, or anything that your child does to make it easier for adults or older siblings to help prepare for Pesach. It is your choice, based on what you feel is appropriate for your child for your family. Blank forms were distributed on Tuesday and more are available at the front desk. We will be awarding prizes to classes (not individual students) for overall involvement after Pesach. Completed forms must be submitted by April 20, in order to be recognized for class prizes. The forms can also be downloaded from our website or by clicking here.
Have a Chag Kasher V' Sameach!
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Words of Wisdom from Mrs. Ziff
As we are all preparing for the holiday of Pesach, many families will be traveling out of town. Even if you are staying in town, the holiday break is a great time to do The Write Thing!
Everyone is talking about getting your child to write more....Here are a few ways to take advantage of the extra holiday time, traveling in the car or a plane, or just hanging out at home.
- Keep a journal of the holiday. Decorate a spiral notebook, or pick out a journal at the bookstore or even the dollar store. Have your child keep notes of special events during the break.
- Keep a photo journal. Assign your child to be the family photographer. Print the pictures and have the children be in charge of writing the captions for each photo.
- As an activity for the kids, have an older child make a scavenger/treasure hunt for the younger children. Write clues and leave them around the house.
- Use the holiday break and family time to have your children interview older family members. You can write some questions together and have them ready to go. When you have some quiet family time, the interviews can take place. The kids can make a book of the interviews and keep them for family keepsakes.
- Ask your child to write a creative story using the holiday as a theme. Some title suggestions are: The Lonely Piece of Chamatz, The Feather Who did not Get Chosen, My Adventures in the Desert, Mordy the Matza goes to Disney, The Adventures of Shayna and Shira, the Shabbat Candle Sticks
- Make a word search with theme words.
- Make signs to welcome your holiday guests and have your children help make the name tags or place cards for the table.
- Try to use the alphabet and come up with a holiday word for each letter. A is for the apples in the Charoset, B is for the butter on the breakfast Matzah, C is for the Charoset.
- Write a friendly letter to a family member or friend who could not join you for the holiday.
- Write a letter to a Jewish soldier that is serving in the U.S. military. I can help mail them to the proper place.
If you have any questions about how you can implement some of these ideas, please email or call Mrs. Ziff. Also, if you have suggestions for future messages, please email Mrs. Ziff as well.
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Intramural Hockey
8th Grader, Ben Ungar, leads his Eels into the playoffs. After the game Ben said, "It's not about winning, but how you play the game."
We tend to think he is defering the fact that he can't buy a win.
Nevertheless, come see HIHL playoff hockey after beginning 4/17.
The Flaming Eels ended their regular season with a heroic, intense, but unfortunately for them, unsuccessful last stand. They played against the Aardvarks in a high pressure game. The game started off with Yeruchom Kagan scoring within the first thirty seconds of the game. Ben Ungar scored with assistance from Yitzchak Grossberg. Akiva Skaist responded with another goal for the Aardvarks. Boaz Bachrach together with Tovia Jacobs scored, tying the game 2-2 at the end of the first period. The Aardvarks dominated the second period with an additional two unanswered points. The third period began with Ben Ungar scoring followed by The Flaming Eels calling a timeout, and later pulling their goalie. Afterwards Yeruchom Kagan scored twice with Akiva Skaist assiting with one of them despite the numerical advantage held on the field by the Flaming Eels. The game ended 6-3, and the three stars were Akiva Skaist, Yeruchom Kagan, and Ben Ungar. Click HIHL for updated stats and standing.
Boaz Bachrach - 6th Grade and Nathan Kelsey - 7th Grade
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Vacation Learning Program
Mendel Grossberg, 7th grade, will have all of vacation to locate
the recipe for Charoset in the Chumash.
Dear Parents,
There may be vacations from school, but there are never vacations from Torah and Mitzvos! To help instill this in our students we are offering an incentive program over the Pesach break. Students in grades 1-6 are encouraged to put in extra effort to learn, daven, and honor their parents every day over the break. All students who participate in at least 80% of this program will be eligible for recognition and prizes. Contest forms were distributed this past Tuesday and more are available at the front desk. You can also click here for a printable copy of the contest form.
Thank you.
Rabbi Nimchinsky
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Caption Contest
Here's something for our loyal Hillel Happenings readers. So many of you comment on the great captions beneath (our also great) photos. Well, it's your chance to be a part of the Hillel Happenings success. In this section, we'll post a random Hillel Academy picture. You email us in the caption. Our judges will determine the best caption, and in the next Hillel Happenings, we'll reprint the picture with the winning caption. Be creative, have fun, and enjoy!
This Week's Picture:
(your caption could go here)
Last Week's Picture and Winning Caption:
Congrats to Dr. Ariella Reinherz for submitting last week's winning caption.
Three back seat drivers is rough on a guy who is just
trying to have a good time on his break.
Caption Contest
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The Hillel Grid
"The Hillel Grid," a regular window into the minds of America's greatest students (obviously we're talking about Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh).
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Students in the Mix -
5th Grade Boys
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If you had a million dollars what is the first thing you'd buy?
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If you had one wish what would it be?
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What's your favorite food?
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Yaakov Brown
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Research to find a cure for many infectious diseases.
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For world peace
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Ice Cream cake
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Mordy Russell
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The New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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That I had all the money in the world
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Dragon steak
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Isaac Brown
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A million dollars? I have no idea. A candy bar?
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A million more wishes
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Tacos
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Eli Rosenstein
| A fake Mr. Werber |
That I would turn into a ghost
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Eli Belly Mozzarelly fake cheeseburgers
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Binyamin Winer
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A small mansion
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That Pokemon were real
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Steak
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Efriam Marizan |
Hillel Academy
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To be Goku from Dragon Ball Z
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Griffin Wings
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Zelig Langer
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I'd donate it to the Kollel so they could have the carnival again. Plus they need the money.
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That moshiach would come
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Pizza
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Do you want to be featured in an upcoming Hillel Grid?
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Flashback Fridays
Can you figure this one out? Email us the name of the students in the picture and we will print your name in next week's Hillel Happenings.
Congrats toAvi Joseph and Bonnie Morris for correctly answering our last installment of Flashback Fridays: Steve Gillis, was the tall student and Ayelet Greenfield was the little girl.
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Hillel Gear Spotted Here Moishe Nadoff, of Nadoff Construction Company, was spotted in the brand new GHS bathroom (he is actually building it, relax). Obviously this intramural jersey was a key piece of his construction gear. Moishe, thanks for your hard work and sporting Hillel Gear while doing it!
Yeshiva School's graduate wearing Hillel Gear
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GRAVITAS
Within this section of the Hillel Happenings, you'll find brief updates regarding
Hillel Academy. These updates all have GRAVITAS.
Parking Lot Gates Close Monday:
- 7:50 AM - 8:10 AM (M-F)
- 3:40 PM - 4:00 PM (M-Th)
- 1:40 PM - 2:25 PM (Friday)
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8TH GRADE BOYS PRE-PESACH CAR WASH: Come bring your car to Hillel and have it cleaned by the eighth grade boys. When: Sunday, April 1st from 1-4 PM. Cost (interior only) Car: $12 dollars Mini-van/suv: $16 Full size van: $20
ANNUAL COMMUNITY SHABBOS HAGADOL DRASHA: This year it will be held at Shaare Torah Congregation, 2319 Murray Avenue at 5:45pm. Rabbi Yolkut and Rabbi Rosenfeld will be the presenting rabbis.
POALE ZEDEK: Shaimos collection -
All shaimos items, Sunday, April 1st from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. $18 per bag depedning upon the amount of Shaimos. For more infromation please contact Yosef Shayowitz at 917.376.7429.
HILLEL ACADEMY: Jen Lipsitz has expanded her women only zumba class to two sessions a week, Sunday at 1pm and Wednesday at 7pm. Contact Jen at jlipsitz@hillelpgh.org with questions.
STEELTOWN ENTERTAINMENT PROJECT: The Steeltown Entertainment Project, a non-profit organization that is instrumental in bringing movie-makers to Pittsburgh, is running a film-making competition for middle and high school students. Students who submit a short video by April 30th will be eligible to win prizes of up to $2,500. This is a great opportunity for students who are interested in film, photography, the arts, etc. Here is the link for the contest: http://www.takeashotcontest.org/
BNEI AKIVA: Snif this Shabbat will be at Shaare Torah from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm (Shabbos HaGadol Drasha). There will not be snif Shabbat, April 7th. April 1st: Pesach Activity -Scavenger Hunt for children grades 2-8, from 10am - 11:10am. Be there or be square! If you are interested, contact us at www.pittbneiakiva@gmail.com or contact Andy Joshowitz (412-527-3679) for any questions or for an application. Save the date: April 25th, 2012, Yom Hazikaron Tekes followed by Yom Ha'atzmaut Carnival at Shaare Torah. Come remember Israel's fallen soldiers and victims of terror, and celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut!
GIRLS ONEG: All girls in grades K - 7 are invited to join the fun at Girls Oneg in PZ education building from 4:-00pm to 5:00pm (Shabbat Hagadol Drasha is the reason for the special time) on Shabbos Afternoon! Next shabbos, April 7, there will be no Oneg because of the late night seders. The next week, April 14, there will be an extra special Pesach Makkos MADNESS! Can't wait to see you there! For more information call Devorah (412-867-7751) or Leah (412-586-8488), onegpitts@aol.com.
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Want More Hillel Happenings?
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Spring into action - Special needs Conference One-Pg Flyer-Apr 27 SpNeeds Conference
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Hillel Academy Thanks This Year's Athletic Sponsors
Leah'Spa and Salon and Mordy Brown Catering
Mark Sindler, Criminal Defense Attorney
Dr. Jeffrey W. Martz, DMD
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5685 Beacon Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(P) 412-521-8131
(F) 412-521-5150
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